CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A string of burglaries hit the Carmel and Montibello neighborhoods in south Charlotte over the weekend, crime data shows.
Crime data reports show that there were four residential burglaries and two business burglaries right by each other on Friday and Sunday.
Charlie Hoffecker described his neighborhood as "very safe and very quiet." Now, Hoffecker and his wife said they're staying vigilant after criminals broke into his next-door neighbor’s house early Saturday morning.
That neighbor, who didn't want to be identified, told WCNC Charlotte he and his wife were sleeping around 4 a.m. Saturday when his back glass door was smashed in. When the homeowner woke up from the noise, he thinks his footsteps from upstairs scared the thieves off because nothing was stolen.
"Affluent neighborhoods like this one in southeast Charlotte are probably prime targets for people that," Hoffecker said. "They think you have valuables."
Two of the homes burglarized over the weekend are in gated communities. Neighbors told WCNC Charlotte thieves are hopping over walls and barriers to the communities and sneaking into backyards.
"You aren’t safe anywhere, I guess," neighbor Britt Tuite said.
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department police report obtained by WCNC Charlotte shows thieves stole several designer handbags and a diamond watch from one of the houses inside a gated community, totaling $11,000 in losses.
WCNC Charlotte reported on similar break-ins in south Charlotte in February and March. Police said then they believed the burglaries may be tied to South American organized crime groups. CMPD has not confirmed if these recent break-ins are tied to the same groups.
"You just have to do your best and hope you’re not targeted," Tuite said.
"I hope that’s a wake-up call to a lot of people in the neighborhood and the whole area too: don’t just leave your house unprotected," Hoffecker added.
CMPD announced on Friday a suspect was arrested in Virginia who is tied to the south Charlotte break-ins that happened in early 2023. CMPD said the operations of the South American crime groups reach well beyond Charlotte and North Carolina.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.